Swine Flu Epidemic Update 10 Day 13

1. Mexico has downgraded its alert level for public health advisory. The government is trying to get people and the economy to resume normal business. Not a bad idea, but people should continue to very careful.
2. On the other hand, the number of cases worldwide now is 2,099, which is an increase of 441 cases from yesterday. Dr. Fukuda said something I never read before: pandemics usually take place over a 2-year period.
3.The number of cases in the U.S. to date is now 896, with 2 deaths.
4. South Carolina is 9th equal on the CDC's list. One new 1 case has been confirmed in Charleston. There is no connection to the Newberry cluster of 16 high school students or travel to Mexico.
5. I haven't had any questions about swine flu, which is sort of a relief, given that that I answer the same questions over and over again. On the other head, since the media is not hyping the story, no one seems interested. The number of cases is increasing still, so I simply remind my patients and readers to be careful!